What a cool place in Story. So is there a 'story' about Smith's Row, or is this someplace you've been before?

Nancy,

I had never been to Columbus before. But Smith's Row does have a website.http://www.smithsrow.com/

The Story Inn is in Story, Indiana. A beautiful small town. Literally, you can see from one end to the other.

http://www.storyinn.com/

Before I start on Story, here is the old Gnaw Bone Food & Fuel {former home of the "famous" breaded pork tenderloin}

And since I'm going backward {or sideways, or back & forth} , the Columbus Bar {the sign is great}~~

OK ~ On to Story ~~

Inside the Story Inn ~

Our food consisted of seafood chowder {very good, with chunks of shrimp & crab} and a very spicy Bloody Mary

A mixed green salad with a good honey peppercorn vinaigrette and roasted red pepper ranch dressing.

The special of the day, Chicken Alfredo ~

But the fabulous menu item was an artichoke sandwich. It is their artichoke dip, formed into a patty and fried. It is served on a toasted croissant, with chef's choice of sides, which were sweet potato fries & slaw. Very unique, very good.

And, on the way home, we went to the Argosy Casino in Lawerenceburg, Indiana for the seafood buffet, featuring crab legs. It wasn't as good as I remember, and no pics allowed. But it was a good trip. And I won $110.00 on the slot machines!!

Nice report. Those sweet potato fries look great, they have become my favorite type of fry. I don't kmow how it tasted but the French Onion soup looks like a wreck.

I LOVE french onion soup. I find that some places make it incorrectly, in some way or another. This one tasted like "dirt". There was some kind of herb that was overpowering {thyme?}.

I had a French Onion soup recently that was basically brown gravy with sauteed onions and croutons. No cheese. I mentioned to the server that if they thinned the "gravy" with vermouth, brandy or sherry, it might be better, and the addition of any white cheese would make it more authentic. The server stated that she knew cheese should be on top, but the chef {cook} yelled at her about the cheese, and no one knew what vermouth, etc., was {it was a dry county in KY}.

Oh, well.

French onion soup should be served with Gruyere, or some other powerful Swiss cheese. Provolone or mozzarella is acceptable. And in a crock that has been set under a salamander or broiler of some sort.

I am no expert on French onion soup, but there are basics that make it what it is, and it ain't gravy with onions. But, I digress.

The Story Inn and Artist's Colony are to upscale for me. I wanted Southern Indiana food, not haute cuisine. Nashville House was good up until the 1970s probably, but the fried biscuits were good with a bit a sasafras tea.

Do try the Seasons Lodge. They had fried chicken with gravy, green beans and fried biscuits one night and prime rib another. it's all you can eat, but the choices are few and perfectly done. The view from the windows looks toward the State park

Also, get a tenderloin sandwich (formerly Gnawbone Tenderloin) at the Salt Creek Golf Course and get BBQ at Trolleys.

We tried the Hob Nob, but it was Tuesday, and they close at 3pm {we were there after 3:00}, and basically we stayed in town.

Almost everything closes @ 5pm in town. The Artist Colony Restaurant stayed open until 8pm. And we were not driving {once we got in town}, so all the other options {Salt Creek, Brown County Inn, etc.} were not options. Although there are more choices, there wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted to do {and EAT!!]

Wonderful report! The food at the Artist's Colony looks great (except the onion soup). That spinach salad looks really fresh! That artichoke sandwich sounds interesting and delicious. Thanks for the peek into part of the country I haven't been to yet.